Factors Contributing to Police Attendance at Motor Vehicle Crash Scenes

Abstract

Police attendance at a motor vehicle crash scene is important for investigating the causes of crashes, reducing secondary crashes, managing traffic, and reducing congestion. However, very little research has been conducted to examine the factors contributing to the likelihood of police attendance. This study hypothesizes that the policies of the police services concerned, convenience and comfort, and expectations of injuries or driver violations will increase the likelihood of police attendance at a crash scene. This conceptual framework is supported by the results from fitting a logistic regression model to crash data from the City of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.